Welcome to Roses & Thorns. All books receive honest reviews, regardless of our sources. We are no longer accepting submissions. While the blog will remain live, I cannot continue reviewing books. My own writing is suffering from keeping up with two blogs. I will post my last review on May 29, 2017. Thank you Rose and Donna for your help, authors for the (mostly) great reading, and readers for following us.

Roses & Thorns

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Sign for Drowning by Rachel Stolzman

Blurb:

Anna
has grown up haunted by her younger sister's death. In the life she constructs
as a barrier against the emotional wreckage of her family tragedy, Anna settles
comfortably into a career as a teacher of deaf children. But a challenge
arrives—in the form of a young girl. Adrea's disarming vulnerability and
obvious need for love offer Anna the possibility of reconnecting with the world
around her—if she has the courage to open her heart. The Sign for Drowningis a poignant story of loss and the
unexpected occasions of grace that enable us to heal from it and grow beyond
it.

Review:

The
Sign for Drowning is
a touching story about the drowning death of a five year old girl, Meagan, and
the life-long impact it had on her eight year old sister, Anna. It has a
contemporary setting, and is told in first person by Anna. It has all the pain
of heartbreak and expressive love that comes with loss and the grief that
envelops the ones who loved. This personal account is dry in places, as would
be this type of emotional journey in reality. It incorporates Anna’s connection
to the deaf world with an endearing look not only at the silence of deafness,
but also the silence of death—not merely its ability to silence the dead one,
but also its capacity to silence the living ones left behind. This book is an
emotional read that ends in hope and recovery. It’s not for everyone, but I do
recommend it as one that takes its reader on an engrossing journey from sorrow
and despair to inner strength and acceptance.